Probably won't PR or win a race again... what's there to be motivated about?

why did you suck so f**king much in your mid 20s? If you didn't care then, why do you care now?

Join a running club that races club nats. Be a part of something bigger than you and try to help the team score.

Ya, why do you suddenly care about pr'ing after 10 years? There had to be some point in the past 5 years where you had the same thoughts.

If you don't enjoy running for running's sake, find another activity. For me its a form of exercise that can be done relatively quickly, in just 60-90 mins a day and can be done outside so I don't have to go to the same stuffy gym day after day. The good runs keep me going.

IF you haven't pr'd in 10 years and want to keep running set a current baseline and see if you can improve on it. Like having a new set of prs or starting over, move to shorter or longer races (bet you could pr at 100 meters or 100 miles), race on trails where pr doesn't matter, etc.

I won a half marathon at close to the age of 50. My first win since high school.

Lots of opportunities to have fun racing throughout your life. Knowing the age at which you could have been the fastest you could ever be is long past doesn’t end the fun.

Masters running starts at age 40. You can even win prize money.

You either enjoy the process or you don't. Sounds like you don't enjoy the process; you just enjoyed a certain result.

And that's okay. You shouldn't feel obligated to spend your scarce free time on something you don't enjoy. Move on to something you do like.

As for me, my motivation is that I still love the process. My PRs are decades old and not coming back. That's okay - I still genuinely love training and racing.

I still like getting up early to run every morning. I still like challenging myself with a good workout. I still love the energy and excitement of race day. I like the challenge of trying to run down my competition. I still like that exhausted satisfaction of crossing the finish line. Then I look forward to picking the next race and doing it all over again.

If you don't like those things, then by all means go do something you do like.

Ryan Hall arc is the only way. Become a gym bro.

Find something else to PR in - Have you PR'd at all running distances? What about the marathon or ultras? What about cycling or a sport like duathlon/triathlon where you can still use your running pedigree to set new PRs and possibly still win overall races?

The reality is that 99% of runners out there are not very good or fast. So it's honestly pretty easy to find a race in a decent sized city that you can win. It's not something that motivates me but could for some. You might collect a prize too.

All my PRs (except the marathon) are probably untouchable for me now. But I still like to see how close I can get. How much I can slow the decline. But it I get a kick from running solid (mid 18s 5K) in my 50s when a lot of peers can barely walk the dog.

I don't really have much interest in the marathon and that's basically the focus of all the local running clubs in my area. I guess my point is I'd want to have a meaningful PR and I'm pretty much to the point where I know my best running is definitely behind me. Like before, I could be ok with not running a PR or not being in great shape because I could tell myself that "there's always next year" but now that it's 10 years on from PRs, I think the body is making that idea less possible. I tried to keep it going after college but just never got in the fitness once I started working. I do still enjoy going out for a run sometimes but I think most of my enjoyment in the sport came from team environments and the sense of getting better day by day. Now since both of those things are gone, my relationship with running is just different.

Also I realized I didn't really need to put winning a race in the title because some of you are right that I could still win some low-key race but that wouldn't mean anything. I guess I'm realizing the main reason I truly enjoyed running was the sense that I was doing something to make myself better and getting concrete evidence by the fact that I could get faster, do more mileage, and all these other things. Improving myself. But that just isn't happening anymore and it's kind of a depressing feeling.

When Ron Hill was well past his prime and basically a mid pack runner who raced at least once a month and often more he said why should he give up doing something he loved just because he wasn't as good at it as he once was. No matter how from your prime you are you can still see how fast you can run, where you can place. If none of that motivates you that's okay. If you enjoy going for a run just do that. Racing is not a requirement.

Ultras and not getting chicked.

💋❤️💋👄💋❤️👄

Be BRAVEY STUNNING and FIERCE like Ginger TMADDDHASFNE

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🍌🍌🍌Expect Great D2 Things from Florida Southern College MOCSIES !!!🍆🍆🍆🍆

Break 3:97 in the Mararhon yayyy!!

Part of why I still do it is for the endocannabinoids and endogenous morphines.

You don't have to race. You can just workout...or not.

I have not run a race not affiliated with the Army since prior to 2010. Since then any competition I have participated in has been Army/Military affiliated.

I 'race' 2miles at the end of a 6 event PT test twice a year. I was on a Army 10 Miler team and Bataan Memorial Death March team. I run about 30-40mi a week because I like running. I lift 2-4 days a week because I like lifting.

Start doing the things you like doing vs what you feel like you need to do.

I have stretched maybe 5 times in the last 14 years. I run and lift what I want, not what I need.

I am 46 years old and I don't have time for BS.

Alan

I started a thread like this a whole back. All the old dudes get butthurt because they've fooled themselves into believing their running careers still have meaning.

An example of motivation. Find a different sport requiring some strength and endurance. As a runner you will realize that yours puts you ahead of others. I was injured last year, unable to run for several months and found playing table tennis with skillful club members wasn't for the faint of heart. But my endurance from running allowed me to advance faster than many others.

I like to run because it helps me look better when I’m naked.

I appreciate all the older guys chiming in about how they can enjoy running still. Honestly I hope to be like that and keep running as long as I'm able. I think the hardest thing is that for my entire running life, the goal has always been to get faster. As I mentioned, even when I was training less and not racing near my PRs in my mid 20s, I still had it in the back of my mind that I could lock-in for a few months and then build into that kind of fitness. The unique thing now is that time is truly running out and that's just an unsettling thought.